The Melbourne and Sydney events on 18 and 20 November were attended by both aligned and independent advisers from a range of practices, with many attending a Legg Mason event for the first time. Legg Mason Australia head of sales Beau Titchkosky introduced the event and articulated Legg Mason’s focus and commitment to the Australian retail investment market, before introducing the main speaker, visiting Brandywine portfolio manager Jack McIntyre. For the next 45 minutes Jack provided an insightful discussion covering four education modules for financial advisers: the role of fixed income, benchmark issues, the case for unconstrained investing and how to build an unconstrained approach.
Some of the key takeaways included improving credit quality in developing markets, with the proportion of investment grade issues now representing 73 per cent of total issuance (up from just two per cent in 1993). Jack also highlighted the ever-changing correlations between sovereign markets against US treasuries, which provided a strong case for country allocations and macroeconomic analysis to drive investment decisions.
In terms of the outlook for fixed income, Jack described the US economy at a crossroads, where it stands poised towards either being able to lift the global economy higher, or being pulled lower by economic weakness in the broader global economy. While the US has the largest economy, Jack also pointed out the China has the largest footprint.
“China is clearly slowing, but the country is using some micro and macro prudential policies and they have used about 20 per cent of the stimulus that was used in 2008”.
Jack’s presentation was followed up with competitor analysis presented by Colin Taylor, director of sales, who highlighted the strong performance of the Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income Strategy over peers. “Over five years, Brandywine’s return of 13.6 per cent per annum is significantly higher than the 8.1 per cent p.a. median return in our assessed peer group.” Colin also highlighted that investors with Brandywine were well rewarded when it comes to risk versus reward against competitor funds.
Legg Mason actively promotes audience interaction and questions during its events, with a prize drawn among those asking questions. Financial Planners Lindsay Doniger (Lambert Investments) and Ted Green (The Complete Planner) were the winning questioners at both the Sydney and Melbourne events respectively.
Lindsay Doniger attended the Legg Mason Sydney event “Our practice has been looking for a wider range of fixed-income solutions given where rates are at the moment and also based on the level of enquiry from our clients. We’re on the lookout for strategies that are well positioned in the current environment. We know of the strong returns from Brandywine and my attendance was aimed at finding out more about what’s behind the results.”
In closing the event, Beau Titchkosky announced the Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income Trust, the flagship Brandywine offering in Australia, has been included on the Macquarie platform. Beau also reminded the audience of Brandywine’s top performance in its peer group in the Mercer Survey1 over 1, 2 and 3 years, ‘Highly Recommended’ Rating from Lonsec2, as well as the recent award ‘Global & Diversified Fixed Interest Award’ at the 2014 Professional Planner/Zenith Awards3.
For further information on Legg Mason Brandywine, please visit www.leggmason.com.au/brandywine.
Disclaimer
1 In the Mercer Hedged Overseas Fixed Income (Australian Investors)(Broad/Aggregate) Sub-Universe Survey as at August 2014, Legg Mason Brandywine is ranked number one over 1, 2 and 3 years.
2 The Lonsec Rating (assigned September 2014) presented in this document is published by Lonsec Research Pty Ltd ABN 11 151 658 561 AFSL 421445. The Rating is a “class service” (as defined in the Financial Advisers Act 2008 (NZ)) or is limited to “General Advice” (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) and based solely on consideration of the investment merits of the financial product(s). In New Zealand it must only be provided to “wholesale clients” (as defined in the Financial Advisers Act 2008 (NZ)). Past performance information is for illustrative purposes only and is not indicative of future performance. It is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold Legg Mason product(s), and you should seek independent financial advice before investing in this product(s). The Rating is subject to change without notice and Lonsec assumes no obligation to update the relevant document(s) following publication. Lonsec receives a fee from the Fund Manager for researching the product(s) using comprehensive and objective criteria. For further information regarding Lonsec’s Ratings methodology, please refer to our website at: http://www.beyond.lonsec.com.au/intelligence/lonsec-ratings
3 The Professional Planner | Zenith Fund Awards are determined using proprietary methodologies. Fund Awards were issued October 10, 2014 and are solely statements of opinion and do not represent recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or make any other investment decisions. Ratings are subject to change.
Any reference to “Legg Mason Australia” is a reference to Legg Mason Asset Management Australia Limited ABN 76 004 835 849 AFSL 240827. Any reference to “Brandywine” is a reference to Brandywine Global Investment Manager LLC. Neither Legg Mason Australia, Brandywine, nor any of its related parties, guarantee the repayment of capital or performance of any of the trusts referred to in this document. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Applications to invest in the Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income Trust can be made using an application form comprising part of the current Product Disclosure Statement, which is available from our offices or on our website at www.leggmason.com.au. Certain eligibility criteria applies. Legg Mason Australia does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this document. To the extent permissible by law, Legg Mason Australia accepts no liability in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any loss or damage suffered as a result of reliance on this document. This document does not constitute investment advice, and has not been prepared to take into account the investment objectives, financial objectives or particular needs of any particular person. Before making an investment decision you should read the Product Disclosure Statement carefully and you need to consider, with or without the assistance of a financial advisor, whether such an investment is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances.
